Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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27. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to provide alternatives to prosecution for parents who fail to ensure their children attend school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22327/20]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Every year, more than 700 families are threatened with prosecution because their son or daughter has failed to attend school for well in excess of 20 days with no legitimate reason and where these parents have declined support and are unwilling to co-operate with the education welfare officer. However, after numerous contacts, one in four of these families are actually prosecuted. I question whether court, or the threat of court action, is the most appropriate way to deal with these families.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Tusla Education Support Service, TESS, operates under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000. It emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three key strands, namely, the statutory educational welfare service, the home school community liaison scheme and the school completion programme.

I recognise that returning to school is challenging for students. As schools reopen, TESS will continue to engage with families to provide advice, support and encouragement to students. TESS will work to support students in returning to school, particularly students who have been identified as having difficulties returning. It will engage with all schools to identify any students who have not returned and might require additional support. The approach to such students and their families will be entirely supportive.

The Deputy makes the point that a number of school attendance notices are issued and a number of prosecutions brought forward every year. In this context, only 6.5% of cases result in a school attendance notice and of those, only 1.5% result in a case going to court. On the basis of those figures, it is my sense that the vast majority of the work done by TESS is very much on the supportive side and to try to bring parents to get their children into school. There must be some element of sanction in the most egregious cases where, for whatever reason, parents fail to engage with the supports provided. It is important to note the small proportion of cases that go to court, which stands at 1.5%.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The law states that if a child is absent for more than 20 days without a legitimate reason such as illness, the case should be referred to Tusla. Sadly, however, due to the limited staffing resources, children have to miss multiples of the 20 days before a referral is made in the first place. Having said that, more than 6,000 children are referred each year to the Tusla Education Support Service. That is an average of 33 children referred every single school day. Would it not be better use of the 98 staff working within the service to work with the families in a supportive manner to address the underlying issues causing school attendance problems, rather than preparing legal files, attending court on numerous occasions and fining vulnerable families up to €2,000?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Deputy raised a number of points, one of which is related to the number of social workers in Tusla. We have questions coming up on that issue later when we will talk about increasing the number of social workers.

5 o’clock

Based on how the legislation is being implemented I believe the Tusla staff and those in TESS are very much focused on that element of support and encouraging parents. That is why in addition to Tusla we have the home-school community liaison officer who is based in the school. I am sure the Deputy has been on a few school boards as I have also. I know the real work they undertake with parents in trying to learn the family-specific circumstances so that by building up that relationship with parents, they might be able to bring that child back into the school system.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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One primary school child in eight misses more than 20 days in school each year. This number is increasing rather than decreasing. In many cases it leads to disruption for the entire class and not just the child concerned. Three Government databases are involved in school attendance, namely, those of the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs through Tusla; and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, but they do not communicate with each other. Will the Minister sit down with his two colleagues and use a technology tool rather than a 140-year-old legal tool to deal with these 700 families in a way that benefits the child in the first instance, the family and our education and legal systems?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Deputy's point on technology is important. Tusla has been recognised across Europe as being one of the social worker agencies that was quickest to move to work online during the Covid pandemic. I wish to recognise the work Tusla has done there. The Deputy may not be aware that TESS is moving out of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and moving over to the Department of Education and Skills. I think the Deputy may regard that as a good thing. Two of the three partners in this regard are being amalgamated. That is one of the changes in function that will take place quite soon.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Two-legged stools do not work.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In the future this matter will be addressed by the Department of Education and Skills.